Publications by authors named "Patricia Iwasaki"
Socially isolated aging adults are at risk of poor health and well-being. Occupational therapy can help address this issue; however, information is needed to guide such work. National surveys characterize social isolation in populations of aging adults but fail to provide meaningful information at a community level.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Healthy People 2020 calls for increased monitoring of local health and health disparities, but successful models of designing and implementing data collection systems for this purpose are lacking.
Community Context: We describe the process, methods, and outcomes of a community-based participatory research initiative, Taking Neighborhood Health to Heart, designed to collect and disseminate comprehensive health data from 5 diverse urban neighborhoods in Denver, Colorado.
Methods: Since its beginning in 2006, this initiative has involved community members in collection of individual health surveys from 1,146 households; audits of sidewalks, buildings, and other built environment features in 412 neighborhood blocks; audits of availability, price, and quality of fresh produce in 69 local stores; and audits of conditions and amenities in 20 local parks.
Key informants and community members in community-based participatory research: one is not like the other.
Prog Community Health Partnersh
June 2012
Background: As community-based participatory research (CBPR) gains national prominence, it is increasingly important to examine critically the meaning of community participation and the roles of research participants. Many CBPR projects rely heavily on key informants, but because of their social position, economic status, or professional role, they may not represent the views of community members.
Objectives: This paper compares key informant and community member perspectives about neighborhood health to explore the types of knowledge produced by each group.